Page 58 of Hitched to the Vampire King

“I don’t know,” the man drawled. “But it was before our work day ended, which is usually around eight. Now, mind letting us get back to work? We wanna finish this up before it gets any hotter out here.”

I fought to contain my excitement as I handed the clipboard back. “Thanks. Oh, and I’ll give you another hundred if you pretend you never saw us.”

All three stared at me as though I were insane.

“Uh, yeah, deal,” they muttered.

I paid them, then Sam and I quickly rearmed ourselves and returned to the office to retrieve the paperwork. We had the location, but we still needed the paperwork so Aimee could track down Nash’s buyers. Once I had that all in hand, we ducked out of the warehouse and returned to the van.

“I can’t believe it,” I said as we climbed in. “If they’re telling the truth, we know exactly where Nash will be tonight.”

Sam grinned at me. “Let’s get back to the others and see what else we can find.”

ChapterTwenty

After spendinghours combing through the documents while nomming on some oven-roasted pizza, it became painfully clear they held no valuable information regarding Nash’s or Adrian’s daytime resting places. We had other options we could pursue—digging deeper into their background and owned properties, questioning local slayers again, or tapping into our broader network for more intel. But those options had downsides. Not only would they eat up precious time, but they could also expose our new location. None of us were willing to risk that, especially when we had a solid lead as to where Nash would be tonight.

The best plan, we agreed, was to act on this lead as soon as Gabriel was awake and to approach the situation en force. Stealth wasn’t as important as numbers for this operation. We needed to take Nash down. Jaden, Josh, and I, as the resident vampire slayers, would lead the charge. Avery, as eager as the rest of us to see Nash staked, demanded to be there. And I knew Gabriel would insist as well. That left Lucy and Sam, and currently, they were arguing over who would accompany us into battle and who would remain at the safehouse. When the argument started to grow heated, I lifted my hands and stepped in.

“I think you both should stay behind.”

That earned me quite the scowls.

“What?” Lucy demanded. “Why would you even suggest that? You’ll be stronger with us.”

One hundred percent accurate. But… “You guys promised each other that only one of you would risk their life at a time, just in case the worst happens. That means one of you has to stay behind. However, as a group, we all agreed that no one would go anywhere alone. That also means no one gets left behind alone.”

Annoyance flashed across Lucy’s face.

“If something happens, if we’re wrong about Nash’s location, if the slayers or hell, Adrian, find this place and attack, one of you may need the other’s help. We would be stronger with one of you there, absolutely. But I also refuse to risk anyone’s life. These are the rules we agreed upon. So, you’re both staying behind tonight to keep watch and protect each other.”

“Maddie—”

“Trust me,” I told her, pulling her into a tight hug. “We’ve got this. Jaden, Josh, and I could handle Nash by ourselves. We’re trained for that. But we’re going to have Avery and Gabriel at our sides as well. We’ve got our bases covered.”

Lucy sighed and slumped against me. “I hate this.”

“I know. But you have to think about your kids. My job is to get you—bothof you—home. I wouldn’t be a very good aunt otherwise.”

Lucy chuckled, gave me a squeeze, then stepped back. “Fine. But promise me you’ll come back in one piece,” she said.

“I promise,” I replied.

“Uh, and we promise too?” Jaden chirped. “Not that anyone asked that of us.”

The room burst into laughter, which eased a bit of the tension.

“Of course we want you guys to come home in one piece too,” Lucy said, still laughing. “We’ll use the phones again, so Sam and I aren’t sitting here fretting.”

I couldn’t imagine Sam fretting. More like brooding. But I agreed to her condition.

With the plan set and everyone’s roles clear, everyone drifted off into their own corner of the house. Jaden and Josh started double-checking their gear while Avery paced through the living room, clearly unable to sit still. Sam and Lucy retreated to the room they’d claimed as theirs, likely to give everyone else some space to prepare. As for me, I ventured upstairs to wait for Gabriel to wake, just like I’d promised.

I headed into our room and closed the door behind me, sealing myself inside the darkness. I took a seat by the bed and reached for Gabriel’s hand. It felt like so much had happened today. He’d gone to sleep in one of Aimee’s guest rooms, only to wake up in an entirely different house. Not to mention tonight’s mission. He had no idea what we had planned yet. I’d have to fill him in quickly before we all left.

As I waited for the sun to set, my mind drifted to tonight. With any luck, within the next few hours, we’d stake Nash and could close that chapter of our life. We’d never met in person, but he’d quickly climbed to the top of the list of vampires I wanted to kill. Along with Adrian. And possibly Elias. With evenmoreluck, perhaps all three of them would be at the storage facility tonight.

Doubtful.

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